Nike + iPod Shoe Pedometer Sensor for Running Product Review

As a customer I wanted to write a product review for the Nike + sensor. I have had problems with it and am still considering the purchase a more accurate GPS watch for running. A couple of my blogs are for customer reviews and I have found it is a great way for everyone to share information. The Nike + website does not provide as much information as I desired.

One thing Nike does not tell you is that the sensor will still work on other running shoes. The NIke+ running shoes have a small place under the insole to place the sensor, but if you can get it parallel enough to the ground on your own running shoes it can work reasonably well. I shopped stores online to purchase a small pouch, but the key pouches were too big for this and making my own was free. I did end up buying the off-brand arm-band and sensor pouch at Best Buy for a lot cheaper than the Nike brand!

I was able to modify my Under Armour shoes with a small pouch I sewed and pinned to my running shoes. It works fine since it is as parallel to the ground as I can get it. My guess is that the pedometer is accurate within 10%. I did program it for my pace and stride but without a GPS, nothing will be 100% accurate.

For the most part I have enjoyed the ease of use, ability to listen to music while using it, and the low price. Unfortunately, my iPod nano has frozen a couple of times while I have used the program while running. It did not save my data and I became a bit frustrated. I upload the data to the NIke+ dashboard online and track my runs. When it freezes and I lose the data from the run I won't have anything to upload.

I have been using the pedometer for about 2 months, and the first one I had failed to register the sensor anymore. I took it to the iPod store for assistance, but ended up having to return it to the store where I purchased it. The associates at the iPod store said the battery should last a couple years and that I did not wear it out in a short couple of weeks. The first one I had must have been defective and the second one I exchanged it for is doing fine.

Nike has come out with many accessories for the Nike+ sensor. The Sport kit includes the sensor and an arm band for holding your iPod. I have been keeping my iPod Nano in a zipper jacket pocket but in the summer you may want to consider purchasing an arm band. You can find many accessories on Amazon or Ebay using the sensor with another shoe. One thing I found that when I went to return my first Nike+ sensor was that you could not return it to any location, different versions are distributed to different retailers. The version the iPod store has can be slightly different than what other stores currently have in stock.

Please post if you have had similar experiences! Has anyone found a better way to attach the sensor to a non-nike shoe?

Does anyone else have any advice on how to get the most accurate read on the sensor for distance?